Stretch run in Poole, Kenya and a new-ish job

1/8 - It's a bit surreal to be back in Poole. After a month and a half away, I'm back to what's familiar. In fact, the night I returned there was a fireworks show in the Poole Quay, and I saw it with the amazing view of my window. But after that long away, I learned something new about this area.

There are so many tourists in Bournemouth/Poole during the summer!

I'm back to the place where people drive cars everywhere. I'm back to the place where people love to be miserable, along with how dreary the weather is. Traveling so much has made me realize I don't really want to be in England anymore. And if a country really wanted to help its people get healthy, follow the Netherlands' example and build infrastructure for bicycles.

4/8 - It's the stretch run here in Corfe House, but that doesn't mean we don't have issues as a flat. Tim and I were gone for a long time, so that means the kitchen got messier and stinkier each passing week. Counters were caked with mess, the trash hadn't been taken out for weeks, there was food rotting in the sink and pots and pans were left sprawled on the counter while the floor hadn't been swept, mopped or vacuumed in a very long time. There are a couple of people here who literally don't clean anything. Domestic issues sound so boring after traveling and being away for so long.

Anyway, it's great to see my friends again. Of course I had a few drinks with Bill, went out to eat with Tim and met up with Danny and Abi to see a truly horrendous movie.

Tuesdays in Poole Quay are the day when hundreds of motorcyclists come and park their bikes in the harbor. It's a show of sorts. It's one of the reasons why I love living here in Poole. Walking among the countless bikes today made me long to ride a bike again. I was aching with desire while remembering that incredibly-stupid-but-supremely-thrilling motorcycle trip in early June. It put a smile on my face. I'll ride again soon; I just need to get away from school!

Hundreds of motorcycles come to the Quay on Tuesdays.

5/8 - I keep getting sucked into the community, just like what happened in Porterville. Like in Leiden, Netherlands when I went to a Couchsurfing meetup and met some really cool people, I did the same in Poole today. I met Nigel, a man who works for the Poole Borough Council involving Transportation, and another woman from Romania, Joanna, who had some amazing travel stories. I was particularly fascinated by her adventure on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It sounds as if you'd be well-served to learn some Russian to undertake that adventure, and if you stay on the train day and night from Moscow to Beijing, it takes seven days. That's an epic journey, and it's one I would absolutely do in a heartbeat.

Danny and I agreed on June 2016, but that happened over drinks so of course it's not binding.

This goes to show no matter how close you are to moving, there's always time to meet new and fascinating people.

6/8 - It's official. I'm going to Kenya. I'll leave Los Angeles on Dec. 21 and arrive in Nairobi on Dec. 23. This will be the longest I've ever traveled. Two eight-hour flights and a couple of layovers in Ireland and Ethiopia will create one massive marathon, one in which I'll have to find new and exciting ways to pass time. This will be my first trip to a third-world country and one in which I'll be in the minority by my skin color. It'll be my first trip to a continent that isn't North America or Europe. The culture will be incredibly different, but the food will be so delicious (at least I hope so). Stella and her family will host me.

Finally, some of you already know by now, but I landed a permanent job. I'm going back to the Porterville Recorder in California. I'm looking forward to it as I'll be able to jump in right away and do the job right. I can't wait to see my old friends from there, and most of all do some work on the ranch. But this time around, I'll do some things differently. No Twitter mishaps or incorrect reporting (as best I can). Early in my time in England, I often thought about what it would be like if I never left. Now I'll be able to find out.